Monetary limit for departmental appeals binds the revenue; appeal below the threshold was dismissed without merits review.

Departmental circulars fixing monetary limits for filing appeals are binding on the revenue, and an appeal below the prescribed threshold is not maintainable. The Gujarat High Court applied the Board's circulars on tax effect and held that, because the disputed amount was below the applicable limit, the departmental appeal should not have been filed or entertained. The Court therefore dismissed the appeal without examining the substantial questions of law or the merits of the refund dispute.

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Issues: Whether the departmental appeal was liable to be entertained when the tax effect was below the monetary limit prescribed by the Board's circulars.

Analysis: The appeal related to a refund dispute involving a very small amount. The Board's circular dated 20-10-2010, as revised by the circular dated 17-8-2011, prescribed monetary limits for filing appeals before the High Court and made those limits applicable on the disputed amount. The Court treated the Department as bound by its own circulars and held that, once the monetary threshold was applicable, the appeal ought not to have been filed or entertained. The Court, therefore, did not enter into the substantial questions of law raised in the appeal.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable in view of the monetary limit and was dismissed without adjudicating the merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Departmental circulars fixing monetary limits for filing appeals are binding on the revenue, and an appeal below the prescribed threshold is not to be entertained.

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